"What does IT management cost per employee?" is one of the first questions you ask when you want to outsource your IT management — and rightly so, because it's often the largest fixed cost after salaries and premises. The honest answer is that there is no single rate that holds everywhere: the price depends on how many users and devices you have, how complex your environment is, which security requirements apply and what level of support you expect. In this article we give a plain ballpark for 2026, explain where it comes from, what it usually covers and which pricing models you'll come across — neutrally, whether you run on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Would you rather spar directly about your situation? Take a look at outsourced IT management.
What are the costs of IT management per employee in 2026?
As a ballpark for 2026 we use indicatively €40 to €90 per user per month for ongoing, proactive IT management. That is a band, not a fixed price: a simple environment with standard workstations sits at the lower end, a more complex organisation with stricter security and more extensive support at the upper end. It's meant to give you an order of magnitude, not to serve as a quote.
Important: software licences are usually not included here. A Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace subscription, any backup software and security tooling you add on top of that. Some parties resell them, others let you purchase them directly from the vendor. So always ask explicitly whether a rate is 'all-in' or whether the licences come separately — that explains a large part of the price differences you see between quotes.
In practice, the price per user drops as you get bigger: at 5 employees you pay more per person than at 150, simply because the fixed base (monitoring, policy, documentation) is spread over more people. A ballpark per employee therefore only means something when you link it to your actual number of users.
What does the price depend on?
Four factors together determine where you land in the €40-90 band. Anyone who quotes you a rate without first asking about these is guessing:
- Number of users and devices. More people means economies of scale per user, but more devices (laptops, phones, fixed workstations) means more to manage, secure and update. A team of 20 each with two devices is more labour-intensive than 20 with one.
- Complexity of your environment. One clean Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tenant is cheaper to manage than a tangle of loose subscriptions, old servers, custom applications and connections. The more exceptions, the higher the rate.
- Security requirements. Standard MFA and basic policy are always included. But as soon as you're dealing with certifications, compliance, device encryption, logging or stricter requirements from clients, the effort — and therefore the price — rises.
- Level of support. Background management only is cheaper than a helpdesk with short response times where your team can turn to all day. Faster, broader or more guaranteed support pushes the price towards the upper end of the band.
What is usually included in IT management?
Before you compare rates, you need to know what you're comparing. 'IT management' covers a narrow scope with one party and a broad one with another. What a full package usually includes:
- Management of users, groups and permissions in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
- Monitoring of your environment, so problems are flagged before you notice them
- Security: MFA, policy, device management (Intune/MDM) and patch management
- Backup of email and files, plus a working recovery process
- Helpdesk and day-to-day support for your team's questions and outages
- Onboarding and offboarding: a new colleague productive on day one, a departing colleague neatly and securely removed
| Component | Usually included? | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| User & permission management | Yes | Basis of every package |
| Monitoring & security | Yes | Level varies greatly |
| Helpdesk / support | Often | Check response times |
| Backup | Sometimes separate | Often a separate licence |
| Onboarding / offboarding | Often | Sometimes per action |
| Software licences | Usually not | Comes on top separately |
Pricing models: fixed per user vs. by the hour or incident
Broadly speaking, you see two ways IT management is billed, and the difference mainly determines how predictable your costs are.
Fixed monthly amount per user. You pay a fixed amount per employee per month for an agreed scope. This is the model behind the €40-90 ballpark. The advantage: you know exactly where you stand, and your IT partner has an interest in little breaking, because every incident costs them time. That automatically steers towards proactive management.
By the hour or per incident. You pay only when something happens. On paper cheaper in a quiet month, but unpredictable: a bad month with outages or a migration can turn out considerable. Moreover, there's little incentive to get ahead of problems — after all, billing is per problem.
That's why, for ongoing management, we advise a fixed amount per user: it makes your costs predictable, sets the incentive right and prevents surprises on the invoice. By the hour can be fine for well-defined jobs, such as a Microsoft 365 migration or a one-off project, but is a shaky basis for the day-to-day management your business runs on.
Does Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace make a difference to the costs?
For the management costs per employee, the choice between the two platforms matters less than people think. Both are modern, cloud-based environments that can be managed in a comparable way: users, permissions, security, devices and support work essentially the same. The €40-90 ballpark applies to both.
The difference is mainly in the licence costs (which come separately) and in which platform best suits your way of working. We manage and build in both ecosystems and don't pick a side in advance — that saves you a biased recommendation. In doubt about the choice? Then read our neutral comparison Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365.
What can lower the total costs: an environment that's well set up and where repetitive work is automated. Less manual work and fewer exceptions means less management burden. If there's a lot of manual hassle in your processes, take a look too at the Flow-Lab: automation & API integrations.
A worked example (indicative)
Suppose you have 20 employees on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, with standard workstations, normal security requirements and a helpdesk your team can turn to. With a ballpark of, say, €55 per user per month, your ongoing management cost then works out indicatively at around €1,100 per month — excluding the software licences, which you add on top of that.
Set that against the alternatives. An in-house IT staff member soon costs a multiple of that and is immediately gone during illness or holidays. Arranging nothing at all seems cheapest, until the first outage, the first data breach or the first departed employee whose access was never revoked. Good management is not a cost item you cross out, but insurance against the hours and the mood that bad IT costs you every week.
The amounts remain a ballpark: only after a short inventory of your users, devices and environment can a fair fixed amount be given. Want to know it for your situation? Book an intro call.
In short
- Ballpark IT management 2026: indicatively €40-90 per user per month, depending on scope — software licences come on top of that separately.
- The price depends on four things: number of users and devices, complexity, security requirements and level of support.
- A fixed amount per user is more predictable than by the hour or per incident and automatically steers towards proactive management.
- For the management costs, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace makes little difference; the difference is mainly in the separate licences.
- Always compare the same scope: 'IT management' covers more with one party than another.
Read more
- Outsourced IT management
- Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365
- Microsoft 365 migration with zero downtime
- Business process automation: tools
Frequently asked questions
What does IT management cost on average per employee per month?
As a ballpark for 2026 we use indicatively 40 to 90 euros per user per month for ongoing, proactive management. Where you land in that band depends on your number of users and devices, the complexity of your environment, your security requirements and the level of support you expect. It is an order of magnitude, not a quote. Only after a short inventory can a fair fixed amount be given.
Are the software licences included in that price?
Usually not. The quoted ballpark is for the management itself. Your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace subscription and any backup or security software come on top of that separately. Always ask explicitly whether a rate is all-in or whether the licences come separately, because that explains a large part of the price differences between quotes.
What is all included in IT management?
A full package usually includes: management of users and permissions, monitoring, security such as MFA and device management, backup of email and files, a helpdesk for your team and properly handling onboarding and offboarding. The scope differs per provider, so always compare whether you're comparing like for like before you look at the price.
Is a fixed amount per user better than paying by the hour?
For ongoing management, yes. A fixed amount per user makes your costs predictable and ensures your IT partner has an interest in little breaking, because every incident costs them time. That steers towards proactive management. Paying by the hour or per incident seems cheaper in a quiet month, but is unpredictable and rewards reactive work. By the hour is fine for well-defined projects, though.
Does it matter for the costs whether we use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace?
For the management costs per employee it matters less than often thought. Both platforms can be managed in a comparable way and the ballpark applies to both. The difference is mainly in the licence costs, which come separately, and in which platform best suits your way of working. We manage both and don't pick a side in advance.
Why is IT management per employee cheaper when you're bigger?
Because part of the work is fixed, regardless of your size: monitoring, security policy and documentation you set up once. That fixed base is spread over more people as you grow. As a result, at 150 employees you typically pay less per person than at 5. A ballpark per employee therefore only really means something when you link it to your actual number of users.
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